Knighthood: The Spirit of the Knight
by Ke
Summary: Shinichi is a knight, in love with the beautiful Princess Ran. But with the discovery of the truth behind Shinichi's parents assassination, this romance complicates. AU. SR. Please R
1. I

A/N: It's really hard to believe that I've only been a part of the FanFiction.Net community for a while but I'm already on my sixth story, (fourth Conan fic). The praises I've received for ""Always"" had probably gone to my head, that's why I didn't put too much work into ""Memories"" and ""The Summer Without You"" and even cancelled my Kogoro/Eri fic, ""The Romance of Light and Shadow." However, now I'm back on track, I believe this story will turn out just as good, if not better, than ""Always"" so give it a chance and review, will ya? Thanks, and now...  
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KudoEdogawa presents...

""Knighthood: The Spirit of the Knight""  
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== I ==

It is the thirtieth time that the yellowed autumn leaves have fallen since the day that our kingdom was saved. I shall, however, retrace the story just a bit before that date, back when our hero was still fresh and green, young, inexperienced, and innocent...

Kudo Yusaku was the top leading general in the aforementioned kingdom, he and his family moved into the capital, into the castle, in order to be the king's personal bodyguard and right-hand man. Yusaku has a seven-year old son named Shinichi. To the boy, his father is the best man on earth ever, and he swore to himself that he'd become a knight himself when he grows up.

The king has a daughter the same age as Shinichi--Princess Ran. Being a princess, Ran was naturally forbidden to leave the castle ground on her own. Having never left the protections of the castle walls, Ran have no friend of her same age. The closest thing she has to a friend were the birds in the royal garden and her own guard--Hattori, a nineteen-year old knight who, despite his age, was quite talented. Now at last there is child of the same age, the over hyperactive Ran was in jubilation.

"Take me to see him, Hattori!!" The young princess demanded.

"Please, little lady, but you must be attending your art class right now," the young knight repeated for the eighth time.

"I don't care! I want you to take me to see him, and that's an order!" Ran commanded.

"And I say you can't see him now and must go to your class, and that, is a direct order, miss!" A voice roared. It was the king. The king kindly knelt down in front of his daughter and wiped away the single teardrop that was about to fall. "Now, Ran, tonight we'll have dinner with the boy and his family, you can see him then, alright?" The king asked kindly.

"Oh, fine..." the princess pouted and walked away.

The king stood back, "Keep an eye on her," he said to Hattori, patted his shoulder and walked away.

"Yes, my lord," Hattori said to the exiting king.

As soon as the words left his mouth, there were sounds of windows being broken. Hattori ran down the carpeted hall and bumped into a castle maid, who informed him that the princess has escaped. Hattori scratched his head, found the broken window, and leapt out of it...

...near the broken window, a large, sky-blue vase sat silently, well, not so silently seeing how now giggles are echoing out of the vase. A pair of large, brown eyes peeked out of the vase and scanned the empty hallway. Ran carefully removed herself from the vase and giggled at her triumph. The little girl walked silently out of the castle, into the vast royal garden. This was her first time without any guards on her watch, she was free. She wandered around on her own, chasing after pigeons and dancing with the colorful butterflies. The little princess traveled freely across the endless field of green until she reached the entrance of a forest.

"Wow," she gasped. She had known that there was a 'forest' somewhere in the garden, but she never knew that a 'forest' is so big and amazing, it's just so intriguing. She feels as if the entwined branches and the yellowing leaves are calling out to her, reaching for her. Ran made one single step into the forest, and like magic, the blessings of nature swooped all over her, it was an unbelievable feeling, she was one with nature. She wandered deeper into the forest, holding the hem of her pink dress, careful not to trod on it. A certain branch covered by leaves was in her path, unaware of this, the young princess stepped on the rounded branch and fell, her dress now covered with dirt. She rubbed her legs and resumed walking, her head tilted to see the endless layers of the towering trees. Another branch and a short cliff. The princess fell off the short ledge and her dress was ripped.

"Ooh, daddy just gave me this yesterday!" She muttered to herself. The sun is slowing sinking, Ran walked slowly on the dirty ground until she collapsed. She could hear people shouting in the distance, guards must be searching for her by now, and she must've gotten Hattori in trouble. Tears slid down her pale and tired face, the mind and heart of this seven-year old collapsed with the body as Ran wailed loudly, somewhere high above the trees, a flock of birds fluttered out of their nests.

The sobs of the little girl traveled slowly in the forest, until at last, awakening a certain somebody. Ran heard a yawn somewhere above her and paused crying. She looked up; a boy of her age was sitting on an unusually large branch, stretching, somehow not noticing that Ran was just below him.

"Hello?" Ran shouted up the tree.

"Wha-?!" Startled, the boy lost his balance and fell off the tree. "Ouch..." he said while messaging his butt. "What's the deal? First you woke me up with your bawling and now you made me fall off this stupid tree."

Ran did not speak, she was eyeing the boy with great interest. He was dressed like a peasant; his shirt and pants are ripped and dirt, his hair untidy and he was barefooted. 

The boy looked up at the darkened sky. "Oh no, father's going to be furious with me if I'm late to the King's dinner." The boy groaned. "I better get going, see you." He made a movement to leave, but was stopped by the young princess.

"Wait up!" She paused. "Um..., can you lead me out of here? I'm kinda lost..."

"A troublemaker, aren't you?" The boy said and rolled his eyes. But nevertheless, he reached and grabbed the girl's hand. It was such a warm feeling to the little girl and she stared at the boy with admiration as he lead them out of the forest as if he had lived there all along. When they finally got out of the forest, the boy let go of her hand. "All right, I really have to get going, you can find your way into the castle from here, can't you? Catch you later." He waved and left.

~*~

"Please, little mistress. Do not run off like that again." Hattori stood outside Ran's bedroom, where maids are busy preparing her for the dinner. Hattori messaged his chest painfully; he had been punished.

Ran remained silent. She was too busy trying to remember how different it was to be around a child of her same age. After what seemed like hours Ran was shaken awake from her thoughts, the maids have left and Hattori was leading her to the royal dining hall. Hattori stopped in front of a pair of particularly large doors and knocked. The guards within the hall opened the door and Hattori stepped aside to admit Ran's entrance. The queen stood up gracefully and led the princess to her seat.

"Now, dear," she said, "just stay put, our guest should be here any minute."

But Ran couldn't stay put, she wanted to see that boy now! Impatient, Ran started playing the laces on her pearly-white dress, after what seemed like eternity, the guards announced, "The Kudos have arrived."

Ran looked up, three sophisticated-dressed people were entering the large, red doors. Mr. Kudo looked very well-mannered indeed, and you can tell just by looking at him that he's very powerful, he gives you a "Wow" kind of feeling. Mrs. Kudo hugged with the queen as old friends would. Mrs. Kudo looked pretty much like the queen--young, beautiful, and graceful. Ran moved on to the small figure tailing his parents...It was the boy from this afternoon!! Only, he looked so much different...he was clean, and you can tell that he came from a wealthy, nice, and debonair family. The boy caught her eyes and bowed, Ran giggled and jumped off of her stool and grabbed the boy by the hand.

"Come on, let's play!! My dolls are eager to meet you!!" Ran shouted happily. The boy flinched at the word 'dolls.'

"Now, children," the King said, "you may play _after_ the dinner."

"Yes, father..." Ran said and walked back to her seat.

~*~

A cheery atmosphere filled the air as the meal continued, the King and Yusaku were discussing future plans for Yusaku's job.

"You know, the people of the kingdom really likes you, you've saved various provinces under you fine orders and supervisions. You're a celebrity." The King said.

"Without Your Majesty's kind conduct, I would be nothing." Yusaku replied.

"Bah, don't say such thing! Here," the King picked up his goblet. "A toast to your successions as chief general-in-command!"

Yusaku picked up his own goblet, clanged it, and they drank.

On the other side of the dining table, Queen Eri and Mrs. Kudo were discussing the design of Ran's dress. No one had noticed that two children have fallen fast asleep until the young princess fell off her chair and Hattori was ordered to send the kids back to their rooms.

The kids walked sleepily. "Your name..." the princess said softly, "you haven't told me your name..."

They entered the boy's room and Hattori tucked the kid in. "Shinichi." He said simply and fell back asleep.

"Shinichi," Ran repeated before being led back to her own room.

~*~

Shinichi opened his eyes slowly. There were sounds outside the room, not sounds of people waking up and preparing the castle, but sounds of panic, of terror. Shinichi looked out the window, it was still dark, but there were red glares from below. A loud scream came from the room above him, he recognized it as his mother's. Putting on his coat, Shinichi dashed out of the room to see panicked maids running here and there. He searched for the stairs but came instead to a crystal door encrusted with sapphires. Three knights in black kicked the door open and out traveled Ran's terrified screams. There were footsteps coming down from the stairs to the right, Hattori came down and slashed his sword at the offenders. More screams. Shinichi looked behind him; the hall was on fire. A second knight came along and led Ran away from the chaos. In midst of the fighting, Hattori noticed Shinichi's presence.

"Run!!" He roared as he countered the enemies.

Shinichi ran up the stairs, it was a terrible mess. Blood smeared on the walls and dead bodies everywhere. A further up ahead--the body of a woman.

"Mother!!" Shinichi cried and ran for his mom. It was too late. She died.

Tears streamed down Shinichi's eyes, for the first time in his life, he felt the cruelty of the world. After all, he was only seven years old. He could hear grunts and swords clanging in a nearby room. The torches have fallen on the ground and the flames were engulfing the tapestries and carpet. In the inner corner of the room, Kudo Yusaku fought against the murderer of his wife.

"Daddy!!" Shinichi cried.

Yusaku looked up, "Shinichi, get out of here!!"

"Daddy, watch out!!" The enemy has seized the chance of Yusaku's distraction. The enemy's blood-stained sword pierced fiercely into the general's chest. And, in a disgusting movement, the attacker slashed the sword while the blade was still in his body. Blood scattered everywhere.

Shinichi's young mind crumbled.

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A note on the characters:: When people read that Ran was the princess, they probably thought that Kogoro and Eri would be the king and the queen. But I didn't think that Kogoro had the posture and power to be a king. That's why the king of the story was always referred to "the King" and never "Kogoro."

Some of you might be mad at the death of Yukiko and Yusaku, but seriously, they play a small role in this story: the shadows in Shinichi's heart. I won't say anymore incase I spoil the upcoming chapters.

Yes...I have Hattori the guard. I couldn't think of an original name and wasn't too keen on using "Kageoni," so yeah. Will there be a Kazuha? Maybe.

Well, how was it? Please review!!


	2. II

KuduEdogawa presents...

""Knighthood: The Spirit of the Knight""

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==II==

The bright, spring morning sun crept over the canopy of that same forest, sending its rays into the magnificent glass windows of the large castle. He opened his eyes a bit and the blinding light hit him, he pulled his blanket over him, retreating into the darkness and paused. There's something different about this day..., yes, in fact, he's pretty sure it's a day that's too be celebrated. He gasped and kicked the blanket off the bed, got dressed, and ran for the door.

BAM!

His legs were faster than his hands, he had ran into the door before his hands could open it. He looked into the mirror on the wall, ooh, that is one ugly nose bleed. Regardless of his injuries, he opened the door and charged down the carpeted hall, down the stony, spiral staircase, past the sapphire-encrusted crystal door, charged down another more magnificently carpeted hallway, down another set of stairs, pushed open two large, wooden doors and came to the royal courtyard. He ran around the fountain, down the marble stairs, past his squire, who stopped him.

"Good morning, commander!"

"Oh, good morning Hiro, listen, I've got to go." He resumed his charge.

"Wait," Hiro yelled after him, "are you sure you don't want me to treat that nosebleed? And the Princess said that she wanted-"

"-nineteen bouquets of pink orchid!" The commander shouted back, opened the front gate of the castle and left. The squire scratched his head confusedly and went inside.

The commander kept running, ignoring the various "Good morning, commander," that the villagers gave him. He took out his pocket watch: seven o'clock. The princess will wake up in an hour and she will be absolutely furious if he didn't get her the nineteen bouquets of pink orchid. The commander ran past the baker ("Freshly baked onion bread!"), past the grocer shop owner ("Care for a few carrots, commander?"), past the flower dealer ("Daisies, roses, all sorts of flowers!"), past the post office, skidded, and went back to the flower dealer.

"Good morning, commander, what will it be this year? Nineteen bouquets?" The dealer asked.

"Yeah," the commander replied, looking at the cart. There's little pink blossoms, yellow daisies, purple roses, and a large amount of white orchids. "Nineteen bouquets of pink orchids."

The dealer, who was tying the white orchids together, stopped his work and repeated, "P-pink? I thought the princess wanted white orchids?"

"That's what I thought, but she wanted pink this year!"

"I haven't got pink anything," the dealer paused and pointed at the small pink blossoms, "save for those."

"Alright," the commander said, "I'll have nineteen bouquets of those."

The dealer prepared nineteen bouquets of the pink blossoms and handed to the commander, who took out his pocket watch again: two quarters till eight, he'll have time. And he ran again, past the grocer shop, past the baker, up the long, stony path leading to the castle, opened the castle gates, up the marble stairs, around the fountain, through the wide, wooden doors, up the stairs, and once again down the magnificently carpeted hallway of the second floor and halted in front of the crystal doors where Hattori was pacing back and forth, as he had done for the past seventeen years. And he waited.

Exactly at eight, a huge yawn escaped the room and the muffled sound of "Hattori?" brought the still-young knight into the princess' room.

"Where is Shinichi?" Came the muffled voice of his princess.

"The commander is waiting outside," came Hattori's reply. Did he imagine it, or did Hattori put an emphasis on 'commander'?

"Tell him to come in," the princess said.

A moment later, the sapphire-inhabited door opened and Hattori allowed Shinichi's entrance. Shinichi stepped into the room, the white decorations had been changed to pink the previous year, Ran was even thinking of changing her doors to pink. Shinichi closed the door behind him. He walked past the pink, hanging draping, came to the large pink bed and sat on the pink stool next to it. He removed eighteen bouquets of white orchids from a nearby vase--the one that Ran hid in twelve years ago--and placed the new flowers in.

"Well," Ran spoke first, "how was your morning? _Com-man-der_?" She teased.

"Oh, pleasantly hectic." Shinichi said.

"How so?" Ran asked and sat herself up in the bed.

"Come on, now. How could I ever be unhappy on your birthday?" The knight said. "_Prin-cess?_" He added.

Ran giggled; although she was mature on the outside, and have acquired the attitude and posture that a princess should have, she still feels childish in her heart, especially when she is with Shinichi. "Well," she said again, "isn't there anything you'd like to say to me?"

Shinichi smiled and edged the pink chair closer to the bed, he leaned forward and whispered "Happy birthday" in her ears. She giggled again, "And?"

Shinichi picked up the vase that was on the ground, "And look! Nineteen bouquets of fresh pink orchids!"

Ran looked at the flowers and sighed. "Shinichi..., I'm nineteen, I'm not stupid; I know these aren't orchids. And seriously, I don't care if you gave me presents or not. As a matter of fact, I would've been more mad if you lied to me instead."

_Right, you don't care about presents yet you asked my squire to remind me..._

"Will you forgive me then?" Shinichi asked innocently.

Ran smiled, "Oh, how could I not?"

Shinichi took out his pocket watch and looked at it, "Well, I'd better go, gotta train. You'd better get dressed too, all the maids are wondering how they should decorate the dining hall." Shinichi patted Ran's head and left the room.

He stepped out of the crystal doors and back again into the well-decorated hallway, he was just about to leave when Hattori stopped him.

"Shinichi," Hattori said, it wasn't in a very friendly voice. "What are you trying to do?"

"What am I trying to do?" Shinichi repeated.

"Don't jest, you know perfectly well what I mean: For the past seventeen years I have been like a brother to Ran. I'll hear of it if you try to do anything to her..., and mind this: so will the King." Hattori is almost threatening Shinichi.

"W-what do you mean 'do anything to her'?" Shinichi said. "We're best friends, that's all." But Shinichi knew this wasn't entirely true, ever since a few years ago Shinichi and Ran have moved officially past the best friends stage. Some might say they're closer than even blood-related brother and sister.

"Don't think I'll let you off just because you're _com-man-der_." He said the last word with a mocking voice, apparently their conversation was overheard by him.

Just then, a call for Hattori came from within the room, and Hattori left, leaving Shinichi entirely clueless about Hattori's sudden change of attitude. Ever since that evening, Hattori's also been like Shinichi's older brother and taught him everything he knew about being a knight and Shinichi really looked up to him, but this sudden change is just too unnatural.

Shinichi headed for the training ground, but the new soldiers, under the supervision of his squire, had already started practicing.

"Well?" Hiro said when he saw Shinichi's approach.

"Well what?" Shinichi said, shielding his eyes from the blazing hot sun.

"What did you and your princess talk about that made you be late to your training?" Hiro said, nudging his commander.

"Do you so sincerely want me to slice you up in half?" Shinichi threatened.

"Alright, I'll shut up. But-"

"I thought you were gonna shut up?"

Hiro shrugged. "Just wanted to remind you that her dinner's at five..., you know, gotta remind you with that poor memory of yours."

"You know perfectly well that I only forget things about myself," Shinichi said. He turned to shout at the training soldiers, "You hit like a woman, Toro! Hit harder!!"

~*~

The sun has begun to sunk, turning the sky a dark purple. Guests were beginning to arrive in glamorous carriages and the guests are lead by servants through the candle-lit corridor and into the large ballroom. Shinichi paced around the dining room, greeting some of the more important guests, including a foreign king of Diima. Shinichi was dressed in a deep-blue tuxedo with yellow stitches of orchids on the back. His armor was beneath this well-made tuxedo, and his father sword at his side. At six o'clock, Ran entered the ballroom in her pink, strapless gown, her beauty stunning every guest in the room. 

She walked gracefully to her seat by the long dining table and raised her goblet. "Thank you all for coming to my nineteenth birthday, I would like you all to enjoy the feast, dance all you can and wish that you would have a pleasant evening." She then drank from her goblet and the guests did the same.

The king then appeared behind the princess, some people made movements to bow, but the king raised his hand and stopped them. "I just wanted to give out another important announcement concerning a promotion. As of this moment, commander Kudo Shinichi will be the general of my kingdom, of Beika."

People's eye sights were placed on Shinichi and everyone cheered and clapped. From the dining table, Ran smiled at her childhood friend and clapped the hardest of everyone. No one had the time to notice that in a corner of the room, Hattori sulked and left the feast.

The feast continued for a hour and people slowly proceeded to the ballroom. Shinichi was forced to dance one dance after another with various duchesses and baronesses. When at last there seemed to be no more women that wanted to dance, Shinichi exited through the golden-framed glass door and went into the royal garden. There were a few people chatting here and there, giggling now and then. Shinichi walked slowly into that same, old forest. When at last it was too dark to see anything, the guests all went inside and people could care less about the princess walking into the forest also, tracing Shinichi's footsteps. Shinichi sat beneath a rather large tree--the tree where they had first met.

"Time certainly passed, huh?" Ran walked up to him.

"Yeah," Shinichi said, leaning his head on the trunk of the tree, allowing the moonlight to shoot through gaps in the leaves, emitting the silvery rays on his face.

"Shinichi?" Ran said, sitting down next to him.

"Get up, your dress will get dirty." Shinichi stood up and pulled her princess up. Slightly unbalanced, Ran stumbled closer to the general, their face close to each other. Shinichi examined the princess' face and the moonlight reflecting in her eyes. "You are so beautiful..." The general pulled her closer to him and Ran rested her hands on his chest. A slow and romantic song played by the orchestra traveled into the forest, Shinichi moved his face down and their eyes closed as their lips met. Shinichi embraced his princess as they kissed for what seemed like eternity until the lights of dawn separated them.

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Yeah, yeah, I know that I made Heiji really un-Heiji-ish...

I don't know when clocks and lamps were invented, so let's just assume that "Beika" is a well-developed kingdom, eh?

Coming to chapter three: A foreign prince whose goal is Ran, and the disturbing truth about Shinichi's parents' assassination.


	3. III

KudoEdogawa presents...

""Knighthood: The Spirit of the Knight""

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== III ==

Shinichi walked tiredly onto the training grounds; Hiro had already started to train the new soldiers. Shinichi scratched his head and said good morning.

"Good morning, general!!" Hiro shouted energetically at Shinichi.

Shinichi whipped around, "Good morning, gen-"

Hiro laughed uncontrollably. "Yes, my squire..., very funny."

"Is love really that powerful to make you forget that you're general now?" Hiro teased.

"What do you mean?" Shinichi looked away, slightly blushing. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO ASK YOU TO HIT HARDER, TORO?"

Hiro nudged the general, "You know exactly what I mean. So tell me, what did you do with the Princess last night?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb with me, you and the Princess did not disappear from the feast at the same time to do nothing."

"Alright men," Shinichi shouted at the trainees. "Target practice, your target will be Hiro!"

The trainees turned to look at Hiro. "I'll shut up," he whispered and left.

~*~

It was a lovely day; the warmth of the sun brought and unusual peace to the castle. The king was in a good mood, he could be seen wandering around in the royal garden with Princess Ran. Shinichi sat silently in his room on the third floor, occasionally peering out the window, down at the garden, at his princess.

A third figure entered the garden, Shinichi squinted; it was Hattori. He walked across the field and to the king, they seemed to be talking. After a while, Hattori bowed to Ran and left with the king. Ran wandered the the fountain and sat down on the edge of the large, grand fountain. She place her hand inside the cool water and then splashed some onto the grass. Birds fluttered out of the trees nearby, Ran's gaze followed them into the sky and saw Shinichi looking down at her and she waved. Shinichi smiled faintly and waved back.

"Come down here!" She shouted.

"Now?" Shinichi replied.

"Yes, now!"

"Why?" Shinichi shouted back.

"Because!" Ran shouted again, but Shinichi was no longer by the window. Ran stared at the empty window, confused. She searched the sky as if Shinichi have turned into a bird and flew away.

"Because you misses me?" A voice said; Shinichi was walking through the castle's back door, into the garden. Ran smiled as he approached. "Or do you?"

"Of course I do." She moved closer to Shinichi and tried to hug him, but Shinichi pull her away. "What's wrong?" She questioned.

"It's too dangerous," Shinichi said seriously. "Out in the open, broad daylight, it's even more unacceptable now that I've been promoted to a general."

"Oh, you and your we-shouldn't-be-together speech!" Ran muttered angrily and turned away.

"Aw, Ran," Shinichi said as he grabbed her wrist and hugged her from behind.

Ran smiled and they giggled and talked. Behind a certain window, hidden in shadow, a certain someone hissed angrily and stared at the unacceptable couple. A trumpet sounded in the distance, Shinichi looked up at the flag of the kingdom wavering in the air.

"I wonder what happened..." Shinichi muttered. His question was answered by the approach of Heiji.

Heiji strode across the field, not daring to slow his pace and his expression stern. He came before Shinichi and kneeled. "General Shinichi, the King requests to see you the the royal conference room. It is urgent."

"Alright," He said and turned to Ran. "See you later," he smiled and left with Heiji.

The two soldiers walked silently down the stony corridors, their expressions stern. If it's the conference room that Shinichi was summoned to, something serious must've happened.

"What are you planning?" Heiji asked unexpectedly.

"Planning what?" Shinichi questioned.

"Don't play games with me," Heiji said as they walked on. "You cannot possibly be with the Princess, no matter how good of a general you make, the Princess must marry a Prince of a foreign country. You, on the other hand, are an orphan, raised by our kind-hearted King, your identity and family background cannot compete with an actual prince."

"What do you know about my family?" Shinichi snapped as the approached the door to the conference room, neither of them looking at each other.

"Come to me tonight if you wish to know," Heiji said and smiled smugly, "I bid you good day, _general_." And he ascended up the stairs next to the conference room and exited from the corridor.

Shinichi pushed open the pearl-decorated doors and came into a room with a long table, lined with chairs. At the end of the table, was seated the King, and on one side of the table was seated a steward of a foreign country. Their expressions were stern and were talking in low voices.

"Sir?" Shinichi said as he shut the doors behind him.

"Ahh, Shinichi," said the king, looking up. "Come, have a seat, we have something to discuss."

Shinichi walked down the aisle next to the table and seated himself on the other side of the table, facing the steward.

"Shinichi, this is the steward from Samuihon, our allied kingdom in the north. Their kingdom was recently attacked by the Yamijin, a tribe of hunters from the east."

"Our king has fallen," the steward said. "The castle has been taken and more of their tribe are coming in from the eastern gate. Our princess was capture and currently trapped in the castle, waiting to be wedded by force to the chief of their tribe."

"The remaining warriors and peasants from Samuihon are housed in the Western Dormitories," the King continued. "I want you to gather a hundred fifty warriors from our land and form ten units. The survivors of Samuihon has one-fifty able-bodied soldiers as well, their numbers are separated into ten units as well, led by Hattori. You and Hattori shall lead the battalion to Samuihon, defeat the Yamijin, and rescue their princess, which is the most important, do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Shinichi replied.

"Either victory or failure in battle, the princess must be brought back. Princess Kazuha of Samuihon must be rescued." The King said.

"Yes, your majesty," Shinichi stood up, bowed, and exited.

Two weeks later, three-hundred men left the kingdom of Beika to battle, with General Shinichi in the lead, Hiro and Heiji not far behind. Princess Ran watched from her window and whispered softly, "Return alive, Shinichi." She retreated from the window, sat on her bed, and sobbed.

Shinichi marched, he was going to fulfill this task, but his mind refused. . .

~*~

_"So you've come at last."_

_"What do you know about my parents' deaths?"_

_"Do you really wish to know?"_

Silence, and hesitations.

_"Yes."_

_"You do, do you? Well I'm afraid I have not the heart to tell you. Who knew if you could maintain a good relationship with those in the kingdom."_

_"Just spit it!"_

_"Alright, if you insist: The King commanded the assassination."_

_"What?"_

_"Did you not hear me? The King commanded the assassination of your parents."_

_"That's a lie!"_

_"No, it isn't. Your father, Kudo Yusaku, was gaining too much power, and the villagers favored him. The King feared that his reign be overthrown and his crown place on your father's head. Pity, isn't it? You were that close to become Prince Shinichi, then you can actually marry the princess."_

_"Shut up!"_

_"Your much-respected fatherly-figure, the King, MURDERED your parents."_

~*~

"It's just a lie," Shinichi repeated to himself, his voice barely heard amongst the trotting of the hooves.

"Sir?" Hiro questioned.

"It's nothing, Hiro, keep riding."

Heiji approached him from the left, until they were so close that the horses might knock each other over. Heiji leaned until his lips were physically touching Shinichi's ear and whispered, "Just ask the king. . ." He moved away and grinned.

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Yes, again, Heiji is OOC, but all the characters are a bit like that.

Read and Review please~~


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